Thursday 13 December 2007

Archeological Evidence of Long Term Beer Aging Pre-1850

Another milestone reached today: the last post from my Earl list. I'd avoided this topic until now because it required some research. I'm a lazy git. And my research time is very limited. Yesterday I did none at all. Cask-conditioned Fuller's London Porter in Wildeman saw to that.

I'll take long term as meaning more than 12 months. That is what you meant, isn't it, Alan?

The following is a quote from "A Treatise on Adulterations of Food" by Fredrick Accum, published in 1820:

"OLD, OR ENTIRE; AND NEW, OR MILD BEER.
IT is necessary to state, that every publican has two sorts of beer sent to him from the brewer; the one is called mild, which is beer sent out fresh as it is brewed; the other is called old; that is, such as is brewed on purpose for keeping, and which has been kept in store a twelve-month or eighteen months."

He's talking specifically about Porter, in case you were wondering. As Accum went round the large London Porter breweries (and took samples of beer for analysis) I think he knew what he was talking about.


This next quote is from "The London and Country Brewer" of 1736:


"A particular way of Brewing strong October Beer.
There was a Man in this Country that brewed for a Gentleman constantly after a Very precise Method, and that was, as soon as he had put over all his first Copper of
water and mash'd it some time, he would directly let the Cock run a small stream
and presently put some fresh Malt on the former, and mash on the while the Cock
was spending, which he would put again over the Malt, as often as his Pail or Hand-bowl was full, and this for an Hour or two together; then he would let it run off intirely, and put it over at once, to run off again as small as a Straw. This was for his _October_ Beer: Then he would put scalding water over the Goods at once, but not mash, and Cap them with more fresh Malt that stood an Hour undisturbed before he would draw it off for Ale; the rest was hot water put over the Goods and mash'd at twice for small Beer: And it was observed that his _October_ Beer was the most famous in the Country, but his Grains good for little, for that he had by this method wash'd out all or most of their goodness; this Man was a long while in Brewing, and once his Beer did not work in the Barrel for a Month in a very hard Frost, yet when the weather broke it recovered and fermented well, and afterwards proved very good Drink, but he seldom work'd, his Beer less than a Week in the Vat, and was never tapp'd under three Years."

It's discussing the private brewing October Beer, a strong beer meant to be aged that many reckon to be the forerunner of Barley Wine. Three years before tapping - sounds like long-term ageing to me.

At Guinness, the Export Foreign Extra Stout (FES) had a long ageing:

"FES at this time was only brewed in the 3 winter months January to March when DS and SS sales were lowest. It was due for sale in the 12 months of the following year (January-December), on average 15 months old. . . . . Due to the prolonged storage of up to 2 years in vat before sale, FES brewing had to be limited due to the available vathouse capacity and the volume brewed well ahead of sales."
"A Bottle of Guinness, Please" by David Hughes, pages 71-72.

19 comments:

Alan said...

There you go - but was that one cask in a million or the popular method? Where are the great halls of dusty barrels?

Alan said...

By the way, I mention the popularity in the context of a report over the last few days that the brewer of Cantillon believes the taste sweetness (meaning anything this side of vinegar) in beer began with the US army bringing Coke to Europe:
http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/travel/holiday_type/food_and_travel/article3015722.ece

Stonch said...

Over sexed, over here, over sweetened.

I hate Coca Cola. I always have. If I must have a fizzy soft drink lemon Fanta hits the spot all the time. Up until relatively recently it wasn't available in Britain, so when I went you went on holiday to southern Europe it was a total novelty.

Ron Pattinson said...

The London Porter brewers all had massive tun rooms where their beer matured. These were mostly dismantled after 1850 when public taste moved away from aged beers and most Porter was sold young.

I think the history of sweet beer is much older. Both British and German breweries wer adding saccharine to beer in the 1890's.

Alan said...

Were the massive porter holding cask used to hold the beer for years? I am just unaware on this point so there is no rhetorical raised eyebrow behind me asking.

Ron Pattinson said...

Yes - for between 9 and 18 months.

Alan said...

I think that may be a different thing than the long-term aging I had been discussing. The idea that there is storage of beer to three years is more what I am interested in. Nine to even 18 months to create tang is within the agricultural cycle, as opposed to the creation of a sour luxury product. I suspect there is something out there as it is not radically different from the sherry or port trade.

The Beer Nut said...

the last post from my Earl list
You mean you won't be giving us a couple of numbers from Brettanomyces: The Musical?

I had been so looking forward to such classics as "Come Home Early So I Can Flocculate"...

Ron Pattinson said...

Whoop, penultimate Earl post. Almost forgot that one.

Zythophile said...

Ah, yes - in the tradition of those other great musicals, Gyles and Dolls, Jesus Christ Super Styrian, and, especially for lovers of Fuller's beers, Seven Prides for Seven Brothers,

Stonch said...

I can't believe my reference to Fanta Lemon didn't spark an energetic debate.

You lot have beer on the brain. Beer, beer, beer, it's all you talk about.

Can I get away with writing things that have nothing to do with beer on my beer blog?

Ron Pattinson said...

I occasionally drink the sugar-free version of Fanta lemon. Lexxie is a big Fanta (and its clones - we don't have the resources to buy him the branded one all the time) fan, but he prefers the orange version.

I thought the point of having a blog was being able to write whatever you felt like.

Ron Pattinson said...

Zythophile, thanks for the contribtions. If you (or anyone else) can come up with a couple more, my last Earl post will have written itself.

Alan said...

"I thought the point of having a blog was being able to write whatever you felt like."

Haven't you read the manual??? Not a chance. I thought the blogger's role was to do what the strangers in the comments tell them to do.

Stonch said...

Alan is right.

I want to review a wine bar in Leadenhall Market on my blog. It's called Planet of the Grapes. I laughed my tits off when I saw it, I really did.

Zythophile said...

Can't think of too many more musicals, except for Mary Hoppins, with that fabulous song SuperCaleyIsFantasticS&NareAtrocious, but there are a few good movies - M*A*S*H, of course, and the one about Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra as two sailors looking for good beer in San Francisco, Anchor's Away, the James Bond hits Goldingser and A View to a Kilderkin, A Mann's for All Seasons, Doris Day in Move Over Carling, Cliff Richard's The Young's Ones, James Stewart in Harvey's, Yul Brynner in The Greene King and I (and also The Magnificent Party Seven), Jim Carrey in The Truman's Show, and then there are the plays - John Osborne's Hop Back in Anger, Christopher Isherwood's I Am A Camra Member, Shakespeare's A Winter's Ale, The Taming of the Brew and All's Wells that Ends Wells ... oh, I could go on ...

Ron Pattinson said...

Alan, I must have the wrong sort of readers. None have told me what to do yet. Except when I asked them.

Zythophile, that's tomorrow's post finished. I'll be able to enjoy Essen Tomorrow without worrying about posting.

Alan said...

Wasn't someone all mony-graony about the graphs and tables? You know, the actual substance of your interest. That is the stuff I love.

Ron Pattinson said...

I can't remember if someone moaned about the tables. I wouldn't have paid any attention, anyway.

Selfish is my middle name. (I don't actually have a middle name. My parents were too poor to give us more than one name each.) Everything I write is for my own pleasure or convenience. Unless someone pays me.